More than 18,000 cows are dead after dairy farm explosion in Texas Panhandle
The state fire marshal’s office is investigating. Full Story
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![A worker was critically injured and more than 18,000 cattle were killed in a massive explosion at Southfork Dairy Farm in Dimmit on Monday, April 10, 2023. Dimmit is about 60 miles south west of Amarillo.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Castro County Sheriff's Office -
EPA proposes major air pollution reforms to lower residents’ cancer risk near industrial facilities
The EPA has proposed tougher air pollution rules for chemical plants and other industrial facilities after ProPublica found an estimated 74 million Americans near those sites faced an elevated risk of cancer. Full Story
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![Midwest Sterilization Corporation in Laredo Texas, operates 24/7 and emits more ethylene oxide than any other sterilizer plant in the country, according to the ProPublica analysis, which relies on self-reported emissions data from companies. That makes it the most toxic facility of its kind in the country and the 11th most toxic overall.]()
Credit: Kathleen Flynn, special to Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Environmental groups sue EPA over water pollution standards
A coalition of environmental groups claims the EPA has failed for decades to update limits on the discharge of some dangerous chemicals into waterways. Most of the worst polluters are in Texas. Full Story
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![Barges float through the Houston Ship Channel on February 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
A rare Texas wildflower gets protection under the Endangered Species Act
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declared the bracted twistflower, native to the Edwards Plateau, a threatened species, a month after putting another Texas plant on the endangered list. Full Story
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![Streptanthus bracteatus, commonly known as the bracted twistflower]()
Credit: Alison Northup -
Feds advance portable generator safety rule to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning
Saying that manufacturers failed to make generators safer, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is moving forward with proposed regulations to bolster protections. The proposal comes after reporting by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and NBC News. Full Story
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Credit: Photo illustration by NBC News -
Texas has the fifth-highest percentage of water pipes made of lead
In a first-of-its-kind survey of public water utilities, the EPA estimates that 7% of water lines in Texas, more than 647,000, are lead based. It’s the fifth-highest proportion of lead-based water lines in the country. Full Story
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![A dripping faucet on Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate moves to set aside billions for future water needs
The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House. Full Story
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![A large crack runs the length of a broken water main pipe after City of Odessa Water Distribution employees work to repair the broken line Tuesday, June 14, 2022 in Odessa. According to Mayor of Odessa Javier Joven, the line has been fixed since around 3:45 a.m. and the system is beginning to pressurize slowly.]()
Credit: Courtesy Odessa American/Eli Hartman -
Texas beekeepers afraid this new legislation will sting
The Texas Legislature wants to crack down on who can claim their honey is made in Texas. Beekeepers say the proposed legislation is too stiff and doesn’t take into account real-world production issues. Full Story
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![A beekeeper's apiary in Bartlett, Tennessee, on June 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal-USA TODAY via REUTERS -
Thousands of pounds of “forever chemicals” have been injected into Texas oil and gas wells, study finds
A new report from a public health watchdog found that more than 40,000 pounds of PFAS has been injected into more than 1,000 wells across Texas — and warned that the chemicals could pose a risk to public health Full Story
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![Dozens of stacked oil drilling rigs sit in a yard just north of Interstate 20 between Midland and Odessa, Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso charter fight tests whether a Texas city will move away from fossil fuels
As global efforts to combat climate change falter, climate activists have turned to local initiatives to rein in carbon emissions. A May vote on a city charter amendment has thrust El Paso into the fray. Full Story
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![El Paso Electric's natural gas-powered Newman Generating Station in El Paso on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Environmental group says Texas fails to hold repeat polluters accountable for unexpected emissions
A new report found that companies in Texas have had 21,000 unexpected pollution releases that emitted 400,000 tons of air pollution over six years, but only 1% of them prompted action by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Full Story
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![The ConocoPhillips Sweeny refinery in Old Ocean on Feb. 21, 2012.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Biden designates Castner Range in El Paso a national monument
At a Tuesday summit, the president also declared Avi Kwa Ame, 500,000 acres of land in Nevada considered sacred to Native tribes, a national monument. Full Story
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![The Castner Range is a former military training and testing site near El Paso. The Biden Administration declared it a national monument on March 21, 2023.]()
Credit: Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
The EPA wants to limit how much soot you breathe. Here’s what it means for Texas and one of its historic Black towns.
Federal limits on particulate matter commonly known as soot could mean cleaner, safer air for Texans. But environmental experts worry Texas may snub rules. Full Story
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![Sandra Crumby, 67, sits on the front porch of her house in Joppa, Texas on March 13, 2023. Her sister, GG Garner, tends to her backyard.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate takes first step toward establishing billions for state’s water supply, infrastructure
Voters would have the final say on whether the state sets aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and invest in aging infrastructure. Full Story
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![City of Zavalla Water Well #1 in Zavalla, Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Touring North Texas’ Barnett Shale, EPA officials promise to pay more attention to the area
The agency’s regional administrator toured the area with the head of a local nonprofit, who complained that when “severe emissions” from gas wells and tanks make people sick, “there are no real remedies.” Full Story
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![Sharon Wilson, an optical gas thermographer with Earthworks, shows images of gas emissions to EPA region six administrator Earthea Nance at a gas compressor in Arlington on March 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Dylan Baddour/Inside Climate News -
Lawmakers propose energy bill relief for Texans with $4 billion legislation
The allocation is part of a plan to add $12 billion to the current budget. It hasn’t been approved yet by the House. Full Story
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![Marfa is covered with snow on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. The temperature dropped to 7 degrees on Friday morning.]()
Credit: Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune -
How a fading West Texas town has gone four years without safe drinking water
Some Toyah residents say state regulators at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality were “negligent” and want to know what took so long. The Texas attorney general has filed a lawsuit. Full Story
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![The Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Texas Law School conducted water testing at houses in Toyah in Feburary 2023.]()
Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio -
Shuttered Fairfield Lake State Park will reopen temporarily starting Tuesday
State officials plan to offer free day access to the property as they consider how to acquire the land before its sale. Full Story
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![State Park Police Officer Kyle Ware points at a map of Fairfield Lake State Park in Fairfield on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Landowners fear injection of fracking waste threatens West Texas aquifers
Operators pump a sea of “produced water” underground for disposal. Intensifying tremors raise fears that the deep toxic waste pits could intermingle with water used for farming and drinking. Full Story
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![David Shifflett, a farmer in Reeves County, parses records of his protests to the Texas Railroad Commission against permits for nearby wastewater injection wells.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
Here comes the haboob: Texas High Plains getting walloped by dust storms
High Plains residents are used to wind and dust, but an ongoing drought and recent tropical-storm-level winds have brought some epic dust storms. Full Story
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![A motorist approaches the intersection of W. Farm Road 835 and S. Farm Road 835. High winds kicked up a dust storm that blanketed parts of West Texas on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 14, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune